Sword Beach to Bremen., A Veterans tale. Sapper

What about the eggs?

 

Except the horrid thing they called tea, what part of your military ration did you hate most?

 

The early dehydrated mince meat. Used before the Compo got under way

 

They taught you to cook as well? Did you make a light broth and marinate Spam in it? MMMM grease proof paper. Seriously, I could not imagine the hardships.

 

We had 2 cooks, one tall and thin and one short........

 

If you were to be pulled to the rear for some reason would you get better food?

 

No Not really the army food was the same as it came from the same source.We lived on crumpled biscuit and soup for the best part of the time NOT NICE

 

If you were in the middle of a battlefield at night and i fire fight or a battle just stop and every one was resting would you have to eat and what did rations consist of?

 

The contents of the 24 hour 14 man pack. sweets, cigarettes, tinned food, biscuits. soup. "Toilet paper"

 

So whats the difference between a sapper and a engineer?

 

Sapper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Combat engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Combat Engineer / Sapper

Read those

 

Brian, did you ever have the "pleasure" of eating US rations? Was it any good?

 

Sapper and Engineer? Same thing !

Yes, we abutted the Americans at Vire... Where my mate"Spud" and myself captured an American serving in the German army But thats another tale....

After the abortive Goodwood attack we were switched away from the death and destruction of the Caen front. Glad to leave that devastated killing ground, on August the 2nd we moved across Normandy to the American sector and harboured near St Honorine de Ducy. Heading for the town of Vire. There was a great change in the general atmosphere, things seemed much brighter and not so menacing, a feeling that was soon to be dispelled. We arrived along-side of an American unit to be greeted by the Yanks who seemed were genuinely pleased to see the British. With their normal great generosity as soon as we arrived they came over and gave us a large towel full of goodies! K rations, they made our food look like rubbish. We had never seen such luxuries, cans of meat, Cigars, Sweets, and Chocolates, untold goodies! After our soup and biscuits we had lived on, it was absolute heaven. The brown coloured American towel I kept for myself, it was so much better than the skimpy little white thing we had been issued with. Later, to get a right old dressing down for having a dirty towel, would you believe?

Sapper

 

Hello sir,

What was the toughest German unit you went up against in battle? SS? Heer?

 

12 SS Hitler Youth Panzer div...By a long way!

 

Now that you have wetted our appetite, I was hoping you might follow up on this. I am sure these things happened, but you never hear the whole story.

 

We were talking about this earlier today. It is the "Ships that pass in the night" syndrome....people you meet very briefly, and never see again, but never forget.... I have had a very interesting life. Both during the war, before, and after. During that time I have met may such folks that are remembered even though it was a very short meeting.

I expect that there are many here that read my postings, have memories of their "Ships that pass in the night" Some of these meetings, and people, are influential in changing your life in one way or another.

The oddest thing about all this. Is the difficulty I had when trying desperately to get old Vet to give me some tales to put in the Normandy Vets magazine i produced

If there are enough interested I will post the story

 

I'm interested!!

 

please do Brian,

 

The American.
The most willing prisoner
Always on the move. The British and Americans had broken through into the open French country side, and then their tank columns had turned North, to enclose the Enemy in what was to become known as the "Falaise pocket" We were pushing at the back of the pocket, driving the Enemy towards the ever tightening noose at the head of this great trap. The Germans in some places were running for their lives, in others they stayed and fought it out, in some skirmishes, they fought like demons. During this time the line between our forces and the Enemy had become very fluid, one was never sure if we had passed the Enemy, or whether he was still in front. To pay tribute to the Germans, they put up a fierce and spirited resistance in some of the rear guard actions that took place, actions that were fought with the purpose of giving their comrades time to get away. Our Company was battling down the Vire-Tinchebray road in hot pursuit and had stopped for the day for food and refueling. We set about digging our fox holes and needed something to keep the rain off, doors keep you dry and also give one a false sense of security. Spud! Now there is a name to conjure with, Spud Murphy our D.R and myself always tried to share the task of digging our holes! First back from that day's operation would start the hole for both of us.

We both decided that a door over our hole would improve our creature comforts and set off for a farm a short distance away, when we got there, all seemed safe and quiet, no sign of the Enemy, we started to look for our door, no sign of civilians, they had long departed for safer areas, while looking for our door we found the farm cattle in an enclosed yard, all suffering from wounds that had been sustained by setting off booby traps, this had an immediate effect of making us a great deal more cautious, still in search of our door for the night we came to a farm outhouse, this was one of those typical Normandy outhouses where they kept the great cider barrels up on racks at the back, and on the cobble stone floor. Spread-eagled on the cobbled floor was a dead German officer, resplendent in full uniform with sword and nazi dagger, his medals pinned on his chest, including the iron cross. Knowing the Germans and their dirty tricks, we were only too aware that moving him would set off a booby trap of some description. Spud and I talked about "making him safe" by putting a rope round his feet and giving him a pull from a safe distance, to set off the very loud bang we knew would follow, in the end we decided against it, some else could do it, it would be far to messy.

Now with even greater care we moved on to a hay loft, a door that had very narrow steps leading up to the loft from the outside. Now! I can still see those steps, worn from constant use, the treads of the stairs hollowed by years of scuffing farmers boots, a nice door, Just what we wanted! We had both decided that we would get it off its hinges when we heard footsteps coming down the loft steps and a pair of German jackboots appeared. Spud pointed his empty Sten gun at him and I drew my trusty Bowie knife that the Yank had given me, prepared to do this fellow some very serious harm, when a voice called out. "I want to give myself up" in a voice with an American accent, in these unusual circumstances and with great caution, we let him come on, having seen what they were prepared to do with their own officer, we took no chances. None! I have never seen anyone so keen to give himself up, he told us that he was the son of an American mother and a German father, while they were on holiday in Germany the war had broken out and he was unable to get home, subsequently he was called up to serve in the German army, sent to Normandy, he told us that his mum had told him to stay behind and give himself up to the Americans. Having listened to him for some time, I was quite convinced that he was telling the truth, we gave him a cigarette and had quite a long chat before turning him in, he was not far away from the American sector, they were quite close, but not close enough. For many years I have wondered what happened to this man? One cannot be anything else but curious when faced with such bizarre events. I would give a lot to trace this man, just to find out what happened to him afterwards? Sometimes I lay awake, and wonder about these people. Did the officer who asked me to cut his leg off live? What happened to the German paratroop doctor? Where did the American prisoner end up, was he telling the truth?
Sapper